Job Factors Engineers Should Consider for Contract Positions

Enscicon Corporation – Award-Winning Engineering & Construction Staffing and Recruiting Agency

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Job Factors Engineers Should Consider for Contract Positions

If you are like most people, the first thing you do while looking for a new job is to scan the job posting until you find the “salary” section. This is not wrong or a bad thing at all. Making an amount of money that allows us to live a comfortable life is important to almost everyone who works for a living. As an engineer though, you work in an industry that has some unique challenges and opportunities to consider while contemplating if a certain job is right for you. Here are some of the factors, in addition to the salary, that engineers should consider while looking for your next job.

Location 

One of the things that make the engineering profession so distinctive is the location of projects. Whether it be remote mining locations in Arizona or Nevada or Metropolitan oil and gas hotspots such as Houston or Denver. There are plenty of places where engineers are in high demand and will be for many years..However, there are many opportunities that will vary wildly in where you must travel to and live over the course of your time with a company. Some will have jobs close to your current home, while others may send you to far-flung and remote locations all over the globe.

If you are averse to travel or working in remote locations, you will know what opportunities are not for you. If you are interested in those projects and that lifestyle, make sure you do your research before you apply or accept a job that will send you somewhere outside of your comfort zone. You should consider things like safety, tax laws, schools, local culture, and other things that are important to you in your life.

Duration of Project

Just like the location of engineering projects, the duration of these projects can differ greatly as well. This is something else that engineers deal with that many other walks of life do not have to. Projects can be contracted for a matter of months or many years. Depending on your personal preference, there are pros and cons to both.

Long projects come with stability and consistency which is something many people value. However, working on the same project for a very long time can become boring to some people and may lead to them becoming dissatisfied with their jobs. 

For shorter projects, every week or month can bring motivating new challenges, exotic new locations, and interesting new people to work with. While this might be exciting to some, others may find the lack of stability tough to deal with, especially those who have families that may make the uncertainty more difficult. If you do want to pursue a short-term project, make sure you know what your options are after the projects are finished. Will you still have opportunities elsewhere with the company? Will you have a say in the next project or is at all up to them? These are things you need to know when signing up.

Company Culture

The companies that hire engineers are as diverse and varied as the engineers they hire. When looking for a new engineering job there is are a lot of different types of companies to consider. There are large, Fortune 500 companies and smaller, up-and-coming firms to consider. There are companies that specialize in engineering and companies that employ engineers in order to achieve a greater goal.

There is no right type of company to choose. Bigger companies may give you the opportunity for bigger and more impressive projects as well as a clearer path for career development. On the flip side, smaller companies can offer you a real voice in the company and more influence on the projects you work on. There also may be a quicker path to “the top” that is not possible at bigger companies. Make sure you know what is important to you in your career and make sure the company you go to work for can provide it. Talk to employees or people who have worked with the company, read online reviews, or talk to your recruiter who will have the inside scoop about what people in the industry are really saying about the corporate culture.

Conclusion 

These are just a few of the considerations you should take into account when considering a move within the engineering industry. There are plenty more as well. The important thing is to make a list, rank non-salary factors in order of importance and find the job that meets most of your criteria.

One of the best ways to do this is to work with an award-winning engineering industry staffing specialist like Enscicon. We have been named a top oil and gas recruiting agency 4 years running, been one of Inc. 500’s fastest-growing private companies twice and won 2019 Best Energy Company from ColoradoBIZ. We will be able to get the information that goes beyond the dollars and cents and let you find out what you really need to know about a job.